Texas Country With Cody Johnson

East Texas native performs in San Antonio, Nov. 24

Interview By Kathleen Petty

Photo Courtesy HBPR

After a Thanksgiving with his wife and daughter in Texas, country singer Cody Johnson will perform at Cowboys Dance Hall on Friday, Nov. 24. The Sebastopol, Texas, native worked as a horseback prison guard in Huntsville while trying to break into music. Today, he has several hits to his name, and when he was preparing for his latest album, Gotta Be Me, major labels expressed interest in signing him. However, Johnson says none of the deals made sense for him or his family, so he opted to stay independent. When his album debuted last year, it landed at No. 1 on the iTunes Country Album Chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Top Country Album Chart. Having worked hard to become a professional musician, Johnson says he never takes for granted the opportunity to perform. “Be prepared to have a good time,” he says. “Let’s just enjoy country music for 90 minutes.”

What can fans expect from the show?

You know, energy. We have a lot of energy. None of the guys I perform with on stage take their jobs for granted. Every time we hit the stage we remind ourselves that we get to play music for a living.

What songs will be on your set list?

“Gotta Be Me,” “Dance Her Home,” “With You I Am”—there’s a lot of stuff that have become crowd favorites. I always put my set list together for the crowd. There are songs I love to play that I won’t play because they just don’t get the crowd going. (Hearing the crowd sing along) is my favorite part every night. I know those people have waited all week for us to come to town. They’ve got a drink in their hand. It’s such a payoff for a guy who literally travels around wanting people to hear him sing. It’s very humbling.

Any advice for those wanting to get into the music industry?

Go to college. Be prepared. It’s not a pretty business. It’s very ugly at the beginning. I couldn’t get booked to save my life. My wife and I were very broke and overdrawn. Every dollar I was making at the state was used to buy gas to go play gigs that I wasn’t getting paid for. You have to fight and fight and keep pushing and not take ‘no’ for an answer and not let those doors that are slammed in your face deter you. I worked for the prison system (in Huntsville), I used to ride bulls, I used to sell boots—I’ve done everything I could do to get by.